Hermione Malfoy:

Making Her Mark in the Lives of Children

Hermione Malfoy (née Granger) has been leaving her mark on the wizarding world since she was a child in her efforts to aid Harry Potter in his defeat of You-Know-Who. Although the dark wizard has been dead for the past five years, Mrs. Malfoy's contributions have not stopped. Along with her comrades, she has helped to rebuild and to shape the Ministry of Magic that we have today which includes many of the policies that we hold. She had also taken up a post as a Senior Magical Researcher, putting her knowledgeable skills into several departments within the Ministry to solve numerous cases -most notably the Cursed Objects case this year of which she had, unfortunately, been a victim.

Since her terrible attack, Mrs. Malfoy has turned her attention to more charitable means and was recently approved to open and run her very own orphanage. She has since left her Senior Magical Research position in order to focus solely on her endeavor which, as we were told by the wonderfully ambitious witch herself, has taken up much of her time as of late.

"It's not as easy as just opening a building's doors and inviting orphaned children to stay there." Hermione Malfoy said with a laugh. "You have to make sure that you have the appropriate facilities, enough people there to care for the children, a hospital wing of sorts, ample space for the children to play, and much, muchmore to consider. One day I hope to also have something akin to a private school for them there."

Unless you have the funds to get that ample space, a hospital wing, (and a private school!), opening an orphanage of the monumental size discussed can be challenging, if not impossible. But this is Hermione Malfoywe're talking about, holder to wealth untold. She doesn't even have to spend any of it on a location as the orphanage will be held at the Malfoy Manor. Situated in Wiltshire on a enormous piece of property and filled with wings galore, there is no doubt that however many children to be housed there will be well taken care of.

"Margie's Home for the Disadvantaged will be closing in the next few weeks." Mrs. Malfoy explained. "The owner, Ms. Margaret Hill, will be relocating to Malfoy Manor as well as the twenty-two children who were in her care."

Twenty-two children! I think we can all agree that is a tremendous start for a new orphanage. In addition to the aforementioned residents, there will be four Healers onsite, five care caregivers, and sixteen house elves on staff. They will all be increased as the number of children are increased as well.

So, be on the lookout folks! The Malfoy Home for Children officially opens its doors on August 4th.

Hermione could cry. She had done the interview with the Daily Prophet just last week and it came out even better than expected. There were three weeks until the orphanage opened and yes, she was tired, and yes, she slept whenever she could, but the hard work had been worth it.

"You've really done it." Ginny grinned. She had been sipping her tea and listening to Hermione read the article aloud as they sat in the living room. "You said you wanted to open an orphanage and you've managed it. Not that I doubted it for a second."

Hermione smiled. "Thanks, Ginny. I'm really excited about this. And I think once September hits I'll work on the school portion."

"Really?" The redhead furrowed her brow. "I thought you weren't going to start that until later?"

"I was, but I've got such a good momentum going, you know?" Hermione countered. "Why stop?"

"Not stop, pause. You've been going like a maniac for months and, to be honest, you look exhausted."

Hermione chuckled. "Great, thanks. It's nice to know that I look like a troll."

Ginny laughed. "I did not call you a troll. I just want you to take it easy. For me?"

Hermione sat back in her seat and brooded. "Yes, alright."

"I am so dreadfully tired." Narcissa exclaimed as she took a dignified sip of her ice-cold water. Draco sat back in his seat and refrained from laughing. His mother was so melodramatic. She would be moving out of the Manor in three weeks and had begun packing her things little by little and having them moved to her new home.

Well, no, that wasn't completely accurate. She was having her four remaining house elves pack her things little by little and move them to her new home. The only thing that should've been tired on her, with no disrespect to his mother, was her mouth. She had been ordering the house elves nonstop for the past two weeks. It was a surprise that the creatures weren't dead yet.

"I saw the Daily Prophet highlighting Hermione's orphanage." Narcissa smiled. "Absolutely wonderful work. I'm sure she'll have more than just those twenty-two children in no time."

"Is that all you're going to gush about?" Draco asked with a raised brow. "I thought you would be more over the moon about our family name being so well-spoken of."

"There's no need to discuss things that are already a given, Draco." She replied happily. "It's redundant conversation."

Classy, Mother. Always classy…

Narcissa had the Daily Prophet article in her hands. Yes, she looked quite contented -as well she should be. She was moving into a new house, her daughter-in-law was gaining fame and notoriety for their family, and everything in general...was just on the up and up. Although, having been this woman's son for the past twenty-three years, Draco knew how to read her. There was still something amiss.

"I think I'll keep the clipping." Narcissa announced after a while. She paused once and flicked her eyes away from the newspaper to glance at her son just for a moment. "And I'll send it with my letter to your father."

Draco's face fell. No, not fell. It crashed. He leaned forward in his seat (screw perfect posture) and stared at his mother intently.

"You're going to send that to who?"

"You heard me, Draco." She breathed deeply. "It's… It's been five years. My house arrest is over next month and so is your father's probation. Well, to receive correspondences that is. It'll still be yet another five years before face-to-face interactions are allowed, ten more after that before he even gets a chance at parole."

Draco's thought processes had completely shut down during her exposition. It wasn't that he couldn't hear her. He honestly wished that he hadn't. Thoughts of his father had been far from his mind as of late. Quite frankly since he had been with Hermione. Somehow it had escaped his attention that his wife was his father's daughter-in-law. They were related now -by marriage only, but still. It made his stomach turn in ways he couldn't quite imagine and he hated it.

"Draco? Did you hear me?"

He blinked back to reality. "Sorry. Did you say something?"

Narcissa pursed her lips and eyed her son warily. "I asked if you were going to write your father."

"Oh," Draco frowned. "I… I don't know. But I'll tell you what, you can write for the both us. No point in wasting parchment."

Narcissa felt hurt by her son's words, but she didn't comment on it. Instead she veered the conversation to something a little less dreary -like the obvious love Draco's wife had for the "most adorable baby you've ever seen" who would be moving into the Manor with the rest of the orphans next month.

When her son left Narcissa retired to her study and sat herself at her desk. It had become a regular occurrence over the past week to do this. When all of her work was done, no more visitors, and there was nothing left to do, she would find herself at her desk with parchment, a quill, and ink. She had thought about writing to her husband for years and now that the time was at hand words were failing her.

Next to her desk was a rubbish bin that she had forbidden the house elves from cleaning. Inside were several crumpled balls of parchment from letters that she had started, but never finished. She just could not for the life of her get past the first line.

Maybe tonight would be different? Maybe after looking through her thrown out letters and seeing where she went wrong she could finally figure out what to say? With a sigh she got started and frowned at the first one she had picked out.

Lucius,

I hope your stay thus far in Azkaban has changed you for the better.

Narcissa hated the way it sounded. Like she was putting blame on him as though she didn't once have the same prejudices. Not that they were wholly gone now, but rather...amended, as it were. The next letter was no better.

My darling Lucius,

That was how far she had gotten with that one. She was an affectionate woman, yes, but only when the time was right. In a letter to a man in Azkaban certainly wasn't that and it felt quite beneath her.

Lucius,

Draco and I have been missing you terribly since your imprisonment.

Narcissa, in no good conscience, could send a letter with a line like that. It was a bold-faced lie. She missed her husband, yes, but as for her son… She wasn't quite sure what to make of his feelings towards his father. She hoped that Draco didn't hate him. She knew that he wasn't fond of him right now, but hate was… Hate was strong. It was much harder to recover from hate than from a subtle dislike.

With a sigh Narcissa threw all the letters back into the rubbish bin and sought out to start anew.

Lucius,

After all this time it's hard to pinpoint what to say. So much has happened since you were taken from us.

Narcissa set down her quill and twisted her lips in thought. Not much emotion given -if at all. Was that a good thing? She wasn't sure, but she wasn't going to throw this one away. It was the first time she had gotten through a second sentence and that, in her book, was progress.

Having been born in April, Giana was three months old now -three months and one week, to be precise. That said, the little girl's parents were completely germaphobic and were mortified if she got even the tiniest sniffle. That was the reason why she had been staying with her godparents for the past three days while Blaise and Liliana were recovering from a mid-summer cold (sometimes too many Cooling Charms backfired).

Hermione was outside in the backyard and relaxing on a lawn chair with Giana in her arms. In the meantime she intermittently looked up just to make sure that her eyes weren't deceiving her. Draco had promised to de-gnome the garden, but what had nearly made her choke was that Harry and Ron were helping him. Not that it had been planned, of course. Hermione's friends had popped over for a visit while Draco had been working. One wisecrack from Ron about her husband's de-gnoming skills had led to the rebuttal: "If you're so good at it, why don't you do it?"

Ron wasn't about to back down from a challenge so he got right to it. Harry got involved because a gnome had attempted bite Ron's hand off. Draco, having successfully duped them both into doing the work for him, had been perfectly content to let them handle it. One strong look from Hermione, however, made him grumble and actually take part in the chore.

"You see what I have to deal with?" Hermione rhetorically asked Giana. "Three big babies, but none of them are nearly as cute as you. Well, your Uncle Draco does come pretty close."

Giana gave a small smile at that and Hermione returned it. The brunette was quite proud of herself. The day Giana was born Hermione did cry a bit once she and Draco had gotten home. At least she had managed to hold it in until after they were away from the new parents. And yes, it still hurt, but she had been plenty distracted as of late so that her pain, while not gone, was more or less a heavy pendant necklace on her chest rather than a huge boulder on her back. She could be around Ron and Lavender with few difficulties -although, with no disrespect to Lavender, Hermione tried not to be in the same room with her for very long. Over time she had determined that it was pregnancy that made her depressed, not a child per se. Children moved and laughed and interacted with you so that you could laugh right back. They, in essence, were a distraction -and a mighty good one.

That's why Hermione went to Margie's soon-to-be-closed orphanage to see Aiden on a regular basis. Of course, she had other reasons to go there like to make sure that the transition went well from one orphanage to another, but Aiden was primary. He was three months, born just two weeks after Giana. And Hermione was, she had to admit, quite attached to him.

"Bleeding, buggering hell!" Draco yelled hideously as he waved his arm around. Harry and Ron were laughing uncontrollably and all Hermione could do was roll her eyes.

"Is my husband bleeding to death over there?" Hermione called out to them.

Ron shook his head, still in a fit of giggles, as the three of them walked back to the house. "Not to death, but he's definitely bleeding."

"Oh, for Merlin's sake… Help him then."

"We were!" Ron replied as he took out his wand before muttering, "After a few more minutes..."

"I should've let that other gnome bite you on the arse." Draco glared as Ron performed a Healing Charm on him.

"Draco!" Hermione admonished before motioning with her head to Giana. "She can hear you, you know."

Draco smirked. Once his arm was fixed he leaned over Hermione so he was face-to-face with Giana and said, "Your first word isn't going to be 'arse' if I say it front of you, will it?"

Hermione's eyes grew. "Draco!"

He laughed and pecked her lips to stop the tirade he knew was coming. "Relax. With all the inappropriate things Blaise says the 'A-word' is the least of her worries."

Hermione leaned her head back and shook it. If something worse came out of Giana's innocent mouth she would have to kill her husband and Blaise.

"How's Lavender?" Hermione asked Ron. He shrugged nonchalantly although there was a huge smile on his face.

"Cursing my name left and right for making her fat and unattractive."

Hermione laughed. "She'll be fine. The baby will be here by the end of next month and then she'll be overcome with joy. Now," she continued with a smirk. "Time for my next question. When's the wedding?"

Ron, smiling still, shook his head at her. "You just want somewhere fancy to go so you can dress up. Oi, Malfoy -treat her better and take her somewhere nice."

"Go fall in a ditch," was Draco's reply. Less acerbic than his past verbal arsenals at him, but a shot at him nonetheless. At least there were no punches thrown. He and Ron hadn't declared a friendship or anything, but at least Hermione had a peace of mind that they were frenemies (emphasis on the "fre-").

Funny how life turned out.

Draco was highly amused. He had come home to find half of his cologne collection huddled together in a corner of his and Hermione's shared bureau with a sign in her handwriting "Do NOT Use." She had complained earlier in the week that the smell was "overpowering." Naturally he said that she was exaggerating. By looking at the sign he was right.

Draco shook his head as he left the bedroom and wandered through the house. "Hermione?" He called. He said her name a few times, but once he realized that he was home alone a smile graced his lips as he went back upstairs. A handful of Floo Powder later and he was walking into what was left of Margie's Home for the Disadvantaged. Many things were boxed up while others still needed packing.

"Ah, Draco! Good to see you." Margie greeted as she came down the stairs.

"Margie," he greeted back. "How's the packing going?"

"Long and arduous, but it's going! Some of the children are excited to help while the others think it's punishment." She sighed with a shake of her head.

"I bet. Now, as for my wife, is she helping you pack or is she…?" Draco gestured upstairs and Margie grinned.

"I think you know it's the latter option. It's like her second home up there."

"So I've realized." He chuckled. "Let me go kidnap her before she spends the night."

"I don't think she'd mind that one bit!" Margie beamed before walking away.

Draco went upstairs and down the hall to the nursery where he knew he'd find Hermione. She didn't hear him when he came in, and he leaned against the wall behind her and watched. She was holding Aiden, as always, and looking happier than the day she found out her orphanage was approved.

"You're getting so big." Hermione cooed at him. "You're going to need bigger clothes soon."

Of course, Aiden didn't say anything back, but his goofy, toothless grin was conversation enough. Draco must have stayed where he was without her noticing him for a solid five minutes. Eventually he made his presence known.

"You want him, don't you?" Draco asked.

Hermione was startled and pulled Aiden closer to her chest. She turned, finally noticing her husband and scolded him. "You do not sneak up on a person holding a child!"

Draco laughed. "You were sitting in a chair; he was fine. Are you going to answer my question?"

There was a terrible rouge in her cheeks. No, there was no mirror so Hermione could see it, but she could feel it happening. "Am I that obvious?"

"You're here with him every day. Of course it's obvious."

Here goes more blushing…

Hermione looked up at Draco tentatively and asked, "Do you want him?"

Draco didn't answer at first. Instead he walked further into the room and kneeled by her side. Aiden turned his head to him and Draco smiled. The boy's eyes were a brighter shade of grey than the first time he had seen him. His hair, still Hermione's brown, now had slight waves.

"Yes,"

Hermione instantly felt her eyes prickle with tears. But no, she didn't cry. Instead she took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay… Well… Aiden's still part of the orphanage. Just because we own it doesn't mean we can just take him. No special treatment. We'll still have to fill out the paperwork and go through the screening process just like everyone else."

Draco grinned. "Can we use our family name to expedite the process at least?"

Hermione cocked her head back and laughed. "No."

"Oh alright…" Draco consented and wiped away tears that his wife had so obviously been trying to fight. They both looked down at Aiden who had begun to fall asleep.

Aiden Malfoy.

The name certainly had a nice ring to it.

Author's note: Oh my heart! Little Aiden Malfoy... I'm tempted to google photos of what he might look like to satisfy my imagination :)

-WP